Cardiff, Wales
February 2004
 

Having got over the disappointment of not qualifying for Portugal and Euro 2004, Gôl! dived straight back into the fund-raising fray when a friendly match with our Celtic cousins north of Hadrian's Wall was announced by treating 40 south Wales youngsters to a big night out in Cardiff as Scotland visited the Millennium Stadium.

With the kind support of the Football Association of Wales and the National Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Children, Gôl! invited youngsters from the Gurnos Family Support Group in Merthyr Tydfil to the game, and in conjunction with The Dragon Has Landed magazine and the Scottish fans' own Sunshine Appeal, arranged for the party to have a pre-match Burger King meal.

Since its inception 18 months ago, Gôl! has been very active on Wales' travels abroad as we has given football equipment, clothes, toys and money to orphanages in Baku, Belgrade and Moscow, as well as bringing two Azeri orphans over to Wales last March to be mascots at the Millennium Stadium.

"The first phase of our work coincided with the rollercoaster ride of the Euro 2004 qualifiers, but as we get ready for the second phase of our work, which we hope will take us all the way to Germany in 2006, we realise that it is vitally important that we do something to help children and young people closer to home," said Gôl! Chairman, Dylan Llewelyn.

And that's why Gôl has decided to help the nine and ten year old Merthyr youngsters. The NSPCC opened its centre on the Gurnos Estate in 1995 to provide after-school clubs, parent and toddler groups and pre-school groups, as well as support for families in need.

Most of the children were visiting the Millennium Stadium for the first time to see Wales play and were very excited about it. "They would like to thank Welsh fans for giving them the opportunity to see their heroes play," said centre manager, Angela Collins.